Radiant superheater for locomotives



Juiy 3, 1934. BLOME 1,965,067

RADIANT SUPERHEATER FOR LOCOMOTIVES Filed July 30, 1932 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR f/l/GUJT 13, BLo/ /E ATTORNEY July 3, 1934. A. B. BLOME RADIANT SUPERHEATER FOR LOCOMOTIVES Filed July 30, 1932 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. //ml sr B- 51.075 BY Q A TTORNEYS.

Patented July 3, 1934 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE RADIANT SUPERHEATER FOR LOCOMOTIVES York, N. Y.

Application July 30, 1932, Serial No. 626,470

7 Claims.

My invention relates to a radiant type superheater and aims to provide an arrangement whereby radiant heated superheater surfaces may conveniently be provided in a locomotive boiler.

The novel features of my invention are pointed out in the appended claims. In order, however, that the invention, together with its objects and advantages, may be fully and readily understood,

19 I will now described in detail, and by way of example, a locomotive having a superheater arrangement in accordance with my invention and selected from a number of possible embodiments thereof.

The railroad companies are alive to the advantages of high superheat in locomotives. The ordinary superheater elements for locomotives give a fairly high degree of superheat, but the railroads are quite willing to employ even higher degrees of superheat than that furnished by the present standard arrangements provided convenient means can be devised for giving such superheat which shall not materially decrease the useful life of the superheater as a whole. Many suggestions have been made looking to the employment of radiant surface in the fire-box or combustion chamber of the locomotive to supplement the effect of superheater surface in the smoke flues, but none of these have as yet been put to much use on account of the severe conditions encountered in the firebox or combustion chamber of the average locomotive.

In accordance with my invention, I take advantage of the device known as a siphon to 5 protect the radiant superheater surface within the firebox or combustion chamber of a locomotive so that such surface shall have a life as long as the ordinary superheater elements. In

the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a sectional view taken on the line 1-1 of Fig. 2 looking in the direction of the arrows.

Fig. 2 is a transverse section taken on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1 looking in the direction of the arrows.

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary sectional view taken on the line 3-3 of Fig. 1 looking in the direction of the arrows.

Fig. 4 is a detail of one of the nuts appearing in Figs. 1 and 3.

In the arrangement illustrated in Fig. 1, 10 designates the barrel of a locomotive of an ordinary type having tubes 12, 12 and fines l4, 14 for the reception of superheater units 16, 18 and 18A. The general arrangement of the super- 55iheater illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2 is that known as type A, a superheater arrangement which has been widely used. Units 16 are not illustrated in' detail, but are of the usual form and differ from the specialized units 18 and 18A required to carry out my invention only in that no portion of units 16 extend rearwardly of the rear flue sheet 19, whereas units 18 and 184 have portions extending from flues 14 into the combustion space. I will therefore describe in detail only the specialized units 18 and 18A. Units 18 have discharge ends or sections 20, 20, the group of which lying in a given vertical row all connect with a given discharge chamber 22 in a header 24. The discharge end 20 of each such unit receives steam from a pipe run 26 which lies in the lower portion of one of the flues 14 and extends rearward in such flue to a point near its rear end where the run 26 is connected by a return bend 28 to a pipe run 30. In going along the run 30 in the direction counter to the steam flow, we pass forwardly thru the flue 14 immediately above the run 26 to a return bend 32 in front of the forward flue sheet 34. The return bend 32 connects the pipe run 30 with a pipe run 36 which lies in the same horizontal plane as the pipe run 30. Pipe 36 extends from bend 32 rearwardly in flue 14 and thru flue sheet 19 into the combustion space. At its rear end, the pipe run 36 connects by return bend 38 with a pipe run 40 lying below and in the same vertical plane as 35 the pipe run 36. Still passing contrary to the steam flow, we may then follow the pipe run 40 forwardly to the forward flue sheet and thence thru an inlet pipe section, not shown, which lies immediately behind section 20 to an inlet chamber, also not shown, in the header 24, lying parallel to the chamber 22. Units 18A are similar to units 18 except that, in units 18A, the pipe runs 26 and 30 extend into the combustion space instead of pipe runs 36 and 40. Units 18 and 18A therefore have a right hand and left hand relationship.

In the arrangement illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2, the locomotive has a combustion chamber 42, in which are two siphons, one of which appears at 44. Such siphons are in common use and are connected to provide communication between the water space 46 below the combustion chamber and the steam and water space 50 above the crown sheet 48 of the combustion chamber. The upper portion of such siphons are elongated and flattened in the direction parallel to the longitudinal axis of the locomotive, such flattened surfaces being illustrated at 52, 52. The lower end of such a siphon, however, is substantially circular in horizontal cross section as appears at 54 having a diameter much greater than the perpendicular distance between the flats 52 of the siphon and the siphon 44 has a bulbous portion 56 along its rear edge having the cross sectional area in a direction at right angles to the rear edge of the siphon almost equal to that at its junction with chamber 46 at point 54. Such bulbous portions are ordinarily present in siphons for locomotives, but cooperate closely with my specialized units as will presently appear.

In accordance with my invention the siphons 44 are so placed that the flattened surfaces 52 of a given siphon lie within but closely adjacent the vertical planes determined by the pipe runs of the two groups of units 18 and 18A which extend rearwardly from adjacent vertical rows of flues 14. Such pipe elements extend rearwardly into the combustion chamber 42 and alongside the flattened surfaces 52. The portions of units 18 and 18A within the combustion chamber 42 therefore lie sufllciently close to the water cooled surfaces 52 to be largely protected thereby from overheating whereas the return bends 28 and 38 in the combustion space and at the rear ends of units 18v and 18A .are protected from direct impingement of the hot blast from the firebox by the bulbous section 56 along the rear edge of the siphon 44..

The flattened surfaces 52 must be stayed in accordance with railroad practice and I modify certain of the stays necessary for this purpose to provide supports for the rear ends of the elements 18 and 18A. As appears best in Fig. 3, certain of the stays 58 for the surfaces 52 have their threaded ends 60extending thru apertures in the walls 52. The outer portions of such ends 60 have nuts 64 thereon which are set up tightly against the surfaces 52. The nuts 64 preferably extend somewhat beyond the outer ends of the portions 60 so that they can be fixed against working loose by Weld metal 66. Nuts 64 have a special shape having only two opposed flattened surfaces 68, 68, the portions '70, between such surfaces being circular and having, grooves 72 therein providing sockets for elements 18, a given unit engaging one of the grooves '72 at the bottom of one nut 64 and another groove 72 at the top of an adjacent nut 64. It will be understood that nuts 64 are assembled and tightened up on the special stay bolts 58 before'the elements 18 and 18A are run into position. When, however, the elements 18 and 18A have been placed as shown in Figs. 1 and 3 their rear ends are held securely bynuts 64 against a vibration due to the swaying of the locomotive.

While I have illustrated .a locomotive having siphons in a combustion chamber, it will be evident I can apply my invention to locomotives having no combustion chamber and having siphons in the firebox proper and .to locomotives having siphons in both the firebox and combustion chamher. It will be understood also that I do not limit myself tosupporting the radiant heated superheater surface from the siphons. It will be seen further that it is not essential to my invention that the units havingportions in the firebox be diiferent, or partly rights and partly lefts, but that all such units may be the same provided only the thickness of the siphons be chosen as only a little greater than the horizontal distance between the vertical centre line of one vertical row of smoke flues and the nearer edge of the adjacent vertical row of smoke flues containing such units. In such case, the portions of all the units extending into the combustion space will be nearer the outlets of the units where maximum steam temperature is desired.

What I claim is:

1. The combination in a locomotive type boiler of a barrel having a number of gas flues therethru, superheater elements in certain of said flues, and a siphon in the gas space at the rear of said barrel having vertical surfaces parallel to thehorizontal axis of the barrel, certain of the superheater elements extending from the rear end of said tubes rearwardly alongside said siphon and the remainder of said elements terminating forward of the rear ends of said flues.

2. The combination as set forth in claim 1 and in which the siphon has an enlarged portion along its rear edge adapted to protect the rear ends of certain of said elements against impingement of hot gases.

3. A locomotive having a barrel and a siphon opening upwardly thru the crown sheet, stay bolts for said siphon extending laterally therefrom andsuperheater elements extending rearwardly thru said barrel alongside said siphon and supported in part on said bolts.

4. A locomotive as set forth in claim 3 and in whichthe supporting means for the elements include grooved nuts on the projecting ends of the stay bolts.

5. The combination in a locomotive type boiler of a barrel having a number of gas flues therethru, a water cooled structure in the gas space at the rear of said barrel and arranged for a substantially vertical flow of water therethru, said structure having the center line of its horizontal section extending substantially parallel to the flow of gases, and superheater elements in certain of said flues, certain of said elements extending from the rear ends of said flues rearwardly alongside said structure.

6.. The combination as set forth in claim 5 together with means for supporting the rear ends of the rearwardly extended elements from the water-cooled structure.

7. The combination in a locomotive type boiler of .a barrel having a number of gas flues therethru, a water cooled structure in the gas space at the rear of said barrel and arranged for a substantially vertical flow of water therethru, said structure having the center line of its horizontal section extending substantially parallel to the flow of gases, and superheater elements in certain of said flues, certain of said elements extending from the rear ends of said flues into a position such that they receive material amounts of heat by radiation and lie along side said structure in position to radiate excess heat thereto.

AUGUST B. BLOME. 

